The invention relates to a fencing section comprising a rod panel having, at each of the vertical sides thereof, an edge rod with a vertical course, and further comprising at each of both vertical side edges, an adjoining fence post to which the corresponding side edge is attached. Such a section can of itself be used to close something, but generally constitutes part of a fence consisting of a row of posts arranged with a rod panel mounted between every two posts. A "fencing section" here is regarded as being the rod panel element with the posts on both sides, irrespective of whether it constitutes part of a larger whole or forms an independent unit.
The rod panel is a grille of metal rods arranged in a mesh structure, not necessarily in the same plane, but with mesh dimensions which are small enough and metal rods which are thick enough, taking account of the mesh width, to induce sufficient rigidity and strength in the whole structure, so that, at any rate, they cannot be deformed with the naked hand, for example comprising drawn steel wires with a round section and a thickness of between 3 and 8 millimeters. The rods are strongly attached to each other at the intersections of the mesh, preferably by means of welding, and the whole is preferably coated with a corrosion-resistant plastic such as PVC or nylon.
Fences with rod panels are often used in cases where vandalism is possible. It is therefore necessary to pay special attention to ensuring that the panels are extremely firmly attached to the posts and are difficult to dismantle, at least from one side, namely the side from which the vandalism is expected. Thus one side of the section will be regarded as the "front side" and the means of attachment will be structured thereon in such a way that it is difficult to dismantle, at least from that front side. The front side thus chosen then defines the terms "front" and "rear" for the entire structure as described hereinafter.
In a known embodiment in accordance with FR 2.641.306, each of the vertical side edges of the rod panel is attached in a number of attachment points at various heights on the post. The attachment at each of these points is formed by a frontal (i.e. parallel with the panel) plate-shaped vane which constitutes part of the post and against the rear side of which the adjacent vertical side edge of the rod panel rests, and by an attachment device mounted on that vane. In such attachment device, a frontal part rests with its rear side against the front side of the vane and a side part extends backwards past the side edge of the vane and contains a horizontal groove wherein a rod section runs that extends horizontally towards the aforementioned vertical edge rod. This latter fact thus implies that the side part of the attachment device extends backwards over a sufficient distance, past the thickness of the vane and beyond, so as offer sufficient space for this groove. For a first part number of these attachment points of a vertical side edge, the groove in which this rod section runs is located in the upper surface of that side part, and in the remaining part number it is located in the lower surface. This latter is necessary in order to ensure that the panel cannot be simply lifted out of the attachment within its own plane, as will become apparent later.
A number of horizontal or inclined rods extend to each vertical edge rod of the panel, and are attached to that edge rod at the intersections, preferably by welding. The rod which extends at the location of the attachment point must have an end which extends in a horizontal direction, at least along a section just before it reaches that intersection, because this part must be able to run in the horizontal groove of the attachment device. It is this section which is meant here by the expression "rod section extending horizontally to the edge rod".
In this known embodiment the attachment device is fabricated from metal and contains a rear part which runs on the rear side of the frontal vane. The device is attached to the post by clamping the frontal part, which rests against the front side of the frontal vane, to the front plate by means of a screw which is screwed into an opening in the rear part of the device until it strikes the rear side of the front plate and is pressed against the rear side of the frontal vane. In this way removal of the screw from the front side is made very difficult. This securing with a screw demands particular care in positioning, however, and also requires screwing work. Moreover, even when the screw has been screwed in from the rear side, at vandalism, this structure can still be unscrewed with a certain degree of dexterity.